Day 31: Montrose, Johnshaven, and Stonehaven

Spent a couple of hours this morning on an unbelievably fabulous beach.

Lunan Bay just outside Montrose. White sand, dunes and dark cliffs. This has to be one of Scotland's best beaches, and I had it all to myself. There was a cafe there, but although it said it was open 7 days a week, perhaps that meant from noon. There was an information board that claimed it was a good place to find agates and other gemstones, but I had no idea what to look for. Though I did find lots of other pretty stones that I will make into sets of runes.

Coastal tourist routes are well marked in Northumberland and Scotland, so Gloria and I meandered down narrow roads with her top down in the sunshine (smugly aware from friends, that the weather in Eastbourne was dreadful.)

There are lots of small fishing villages on the route from Dundee to Aberdeen. Johnshaven was a nice little place.

It had a small Hotel on the Quay called The Anchor where the food was excellent and interesting, including such dishes as lobster with cucumber salsa, home made venison burgers, haggis bites and a wonderful fish stew Italian style with tomato and garlic, parmesan and crusty bread! Definitely worth a visit.

There was also a wonderful craft shop where all the work was genuine craft, not tatt by any other name.

The owner of the Starfish Studio, like the Velvet Easel in Portobello in Edinburgh, had bought the premises and created the gallery from scratch. She had arts and crafts from makers both local and national. I had to remind myself that Gloria is small and her boot full.

I had wanted to stay in Stonehaven. When I got there I couldn't think why! Yet another castle of course. My poor daughter Morgan writes a castle blog and there are 300 round here according to Visit Scotland.

This one is rather splendid. It's a ruined medieval fortress called Dunnottar Castle. And there is a lot of it.

Its claim to fame, amongst other historical events of note, is that in May 1652 its people managed to smuggle out the Scottish Crown Jewels under the noses of Cromwell's forces, hidden in a woman's skirt!

Back to Stonehaven: it has a harbour...

 And a training centre for marine survival...

 A market square, which is a car park, and very few shops...

From the harbour you can walk along a wooden pathway into the town and along that walkway there are some sculptures.

One sculpture on the sky line near the castle looks like a folly.

It is neither sculpture nor folly. It's a war memorial. I thought it looked like a Greek temple.

Apparently however, Stonehaven is the place to be at Hogmanay (New Year) when residents swing blazing balls of fire over their heads and drink lots! Booze and fire balls. Mmm....

Cue for a gin and tonic I think, but not until I get to my next host as Scotland quite rightly has a zero tolerance to drink driving.

And tonight I am staying on a farm a few miles from Aberdeen with Judith and Chris.

Day 20: Lindisfarne and Berwick

Hurray... The sun is shining,  My Airbnb host's children gave me five quail eggs to take away with me, and I only took 40 minutes to reach the causeway to the 'real' Lindisfarne, unlike yesterday.

One of the joys of travelling on a wing and a prayer with no research,  is that each day offers new experiences and untold delights. To reach Lindisfarne you have to go over the causeway, so check times of the tide if you plan to go.

After all the other castles I have visited on this trip Lindisfarne was one such delightful surprise.

It was a bit of a trek to the castle from the car park and I don't  have the red hiking socks and Scandinavian walking poles of other pilgrims, but I decided to walk rather than jump on the shuttle bus.

Glad I did. I saw boats made into sheds

 Flowers and multicoloured pebbles o.n the shoreline

 

There was a new visitor centre drawing attention to a the wildlife on the island's nature reserve

.

The walk up was stepped and steep. No stair lifts available which meant you had to be able bodied to do this one.

Inside, it looked as if the ordinary family living there had only just gone off fishing for the morning.

I had expected a ruin at worst and a banqueting hall laid for 40 with best glass and silver at best. Lindisfarne was a cosy family home and dressed like it. I was charmed.

However this castle with its medieval foundations is very exposed and it was interesting to see that the National Trust were undertaking restoration work on the fabric of the building to combat damp and serious weathering.  This is where our National Trust money is well spent folks. 

 Liam  learnt his trade working on other heritage conservation buildings in Scotland.

Until 1910 Lindisfarne castle was run down and neglected. It was bought by the editor of Country Life Magazine Edward Hudson who got his friends, the architect Edwin Lutyens and garden designer Gertrude Jekell to help restore it.. Gertrude planted the garden and  blasted the walls with flowering seeds, and lowered a gardeners boy down with a rope in a basket to scatter seeds on the ledges and crevices.It largely looks unchanged since the 1930's

The family used the castle as a holiday home so Gertrude  planned the garden as a summer one.

Today one of the National Trust staff was in the garden with his dog trying to scare rabbits away from newly planted lettuce. Good luck with that. I saw several and they seemed fearless to me. 

I walked from the castle to the shore edge where there were  stone cairns standing like some surreal landscape. People love to leave their mark and this is far nicer that graffiti tagging.

And a stone labyrinth just like the one I had planned on that sandy beach in Margate a few days into my trip.

At least there was little chance of the sea washing this one away.

Talking of labyrinths -  North Yorkshire council have responded to my plea to restore the smallest turf maze in Europe up at Dalby. That's a labyrinth too, not a maze at all. They have given me an email of the organisation that should be responsible for preserving it. I will persevere.

In the village of Lindisfarne I visited the National Trust Exhibition, and visited an artist who is creating wonderful art work by bringing alive the same kind of calligraphy practised by those monks so long ago.

 

Aren't they wonderful? Her name is Mary Fleeson

and you can find her at www.lindisfarne-scriptorium.co.uk

Time to get off the island and head for Edinburgh by way of Berwick and the coastal route.

As usual I asked a local for must see must do in Berwick. The lady in question worked as a volunteer in the local British Heart Foundation Shop. She said the best way to see Berwick was from the walls. 

 She was right.. It was.  Berwick has Elizabethan fortified walls all round it. The walk is high round the twon and takes in the shoreline, the pier and has great views of the bridges and the town itself. 

She also told me to have Stovie for lunch - a true Northumbrian comfort food dish made of potato and corned beef. That was right too. It was very good. 

Then I had to have an ice-cream.  Had to?   Yes, this was not just any ice cream it was award winning local icecream.

And it came from the most unusual ice cream kiosk imaginable - an ex Victorian ladies toilet known locally as The Loovre!

The ice cream  in several flavours has been  featured on the Food and Farming Awards as well as on Country file. Enough said.

Once over the border into Scotland the coastal route took me to picturesque St. Abbs Head

 Pease Bay, through Dunbar and into Edinburgh. Even though much of it was along the A1 the sea as never far from my left.

A lovely day. Grateful.